Posts Tagged ‘fallout 3

Fallout 3 is fun, but before I get anymore on topic I’ll make a quick detour – I’ll make the prediction that GTA5 will be a long way off, if I were a Houser brother I’d be looking at Fallout 3 as the perfect illustration of how much fun can be had designing an open world. Imagine if Rockstar’s next sandbox isn’t some boring old city – these guys have great imagination, and I’d love to see a game where the world and rules are created by them. I’d imagine they feel the same way.

But enough about Rockstar and their future wares, I’m here to talk about Bethesda’s latest effort.

Fallout 3 is fun and brims with possibility – I don’t think I have ever been exposed to a game that is just so open. Open, of course, in the sense that you can trek it to any part of the landscape, where you go is completely your decision – but the ‘openness’ that I refer to and that impressed me so much was that of how the game interacts with the player. Put simply, it doesn’t.

During a battle where I paired with a bunch of Brotherhood of Steel dudes (and dudettes) against a super super mutant, I found myself scavenging from the bodies of the fallen instead of focusing on the battle at hand. Why was I doing this? Well it wasn’t because I needed health, ammo or whatever other resource – in that regard, collecting from those bodies certainly could have waited until after the battle.

The reason I went out of my way during combat was because of some hard-coded assumption I was making subconsciously about the game – I was collecting the wares before the boss died and triggered an event, possibly propelling me into a new area. Well I should have known better, F3 doesn’t roll like that – the game never takes over, you’re always in control and never locked down. It’s cool, and when paired with geographical ‘openness’, it works to great effect. At anytime you can go anywherein Fallout 3 – if I wasn’t compelled to progress through the door that ending the boss opened, I didn’t have to.

So it might not be as big a score as getting your hands on LBP a few weeks early, but if you happen to have the afternoon off work and would like to start your post apocalyptic journey sooner (today) rather than later (tomorrow), it might be less hassle than expected.

Although the official release date is hard coded at 31/10/08, lucky reader Mark has managed to get his hands on his copy today. Although they didn’t have stock on shelves, JB Kedron were happy enough to hand a copy over – I guess the massive embargo, as one JB staff member put it, hasn’t convinced everyone.

EB Games, staying true to their formula have declined to sell the game early or at a reasonable price, and are asking $119 as apose to JB’s $89.

Gametraders Chermside (and assumably other stores) have the game in stock and on shelves today, also priced at $89.

So there you have it, if anyone needs to get a copy a day early you do have options.

Apparently a bit of a tradition when a game nears completion, the internal speedrun contest was cleaned up by Bethesda QA tester Sam ‘I Am’ Bernstein, and his prize – a pie of his choosing. A prize well earned.

I’m sure the majority of Playstation 3 users will survive, they’ll just find themselves slightly less prepared for their upcoming stint in the post-apocalyptic environment of Fallout 3.

PS3fanboy have dropped the news that Amazon.com, the only distributor with the exclusive Survival Edition of the game, have completely sold out of the PS3 flavour of the package (at time of writing they are displaying the items status as Currently unavailable).

Containing all the ingredients of the Collector’s Edition, with the inclusion of a replica PIP-Boy 3000 (with the functionality of a clock!), the Survival Edition is the bookend of the available versions.

For the record, Amazon does not disclose the number of units ordered, but it’s clear Playstation 3 users are as ready as any to dive into the world of Fallout 3.

First it was refused classification. Then it was modified and resubmitted, and finally accepted. Fallout 3 had a rocky ride toward legal sale in Australia, and that ride didn’t get any easier when the news dropped that the Australian edit of Fallout 3 would in fact be the only edition – The edits made to negotiate our tricky classification board would be forced on gamers globally.

But don’t fret, according to Pete Hines (VP of Public Relations & Marketing for Bethesda), it seems our worst fears of game experience alterations haven’t been realised, just yet…

Playing on Playstation 3

Red Dead Revolver - I paid about $1000 for my launch model PS3, so I guess it's time I get some use out of that emotion chip crammed inside.
I remember Red Dead Revolver looking rather good when it was released, and despite the low resolution and odd blurring (that I attribute to playing on a HD set) the game holds up well. It looks good despite these graphical limitations because the art direction is so precise and awesome. And it isn't just the art direction, the music, dialogue and set design (for some reason, set seems a more fitting word than level) all work in tandem to recreate an iconic Wild West atmosphere. Red Dead Revolver doesn’t aim to recreate life in the Wild West, it allows our imagination to take over and populates the locale with legendary men and their legendary stories.

Playing on iPhone

edge - Well I never thought I'd consider playing a game on iPhone as actually gaming, but edge has turned me around. The game is built for the iPhone. Sure, it could be ported, but the elegance of what has been created is astounding, it boggles the mind and makes me wonder what amazing gems we'd receive if current gen consoles weren't clones of eachother.

Playing on PC

Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod, Generals - Zero Hour - It may be a temporary effect as I slowly reintroduce the PC into my gaming diet, but it seems every title I’m excited to play on the platform is either a strategy game, or a cheap indie game.
PC gaming isn’t dead, it’s just restricted to titles that require complex input or a pointing device, and games that couldn't be developed or distributed on other platforms. I guess that’s part of the reason the AppStore is so far a success, there were a lot of indie devs stuck on PC for lack of a better alternative.